Former MLB pitcher dies in Venezuela amid country's medicine shortage

Former Rockies and Marlins pitcher, Marcos Carvajal, died on Wednesday in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, the Miami Herald reports. He was 33 years old.

Making the situation much sadder are the circumstances that reportedly contributed to Carvajal’s death. According to the Miami Herald report, Carvajal succumbed to pneumonia that was not treated in time because of a medication shortage in his home country.

“According to press reports from that nation, Carvajal could not receive the medicines to treat pneumonia that had been afflicting him in recent days and his body could not withstand the disease,” the report states.

In November, the Miami Herald reported that the medicine crisis in Venezuela is approaching “levels comparable to the poorest nations.” Vital medications needed to treat illnesses and help ease patients’ pain are in short supply. As a result, illnesses that aren’t being treated are lingering or worsening, leaving hospitals overwhelmed with patients and thousands of people at risk of not being treated in time.

Sadly, Carvajal is just one of the many whose lives couldn’t be saved.

Though he didn’t make a major impact in MLB, appearing in just 42 games between the Colorado Rockies in 2005 and Miami Marlins in 2007, Carvajal is being remembered fondly by those who competed with and against him.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott posted a remembrance as well, while also noting the troubling circumstances:

This is sad and tragic. My prayers are with Marcos Carvajal’s family during this difficult time. https://t.co/D15G6HyH18